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TRP: Bloodgrut and Raef (Ash Dream)
200. Setting: Late at night after the reception. Raef and Griffin's room. The world spun and blurred, the sound of clothing rustling and music lifting in the air. Distantly he heard laughter, but that also faded away until there was him and his dance partner. At first Aesar was smiling down at him, the elf whispering I saw you with that teasing smile he always wore, then he was staring up at Azrael. Azrael also smiled, fangs flashing, in the candlelight that served as the only lighting in the small cabin. Finally it was him and Griffin. Tonight the stars and moon lit the dance, the silver light mingling with the oranges of the torches and candles. The scene dissipated until he was walking down a familiar path. He walked this path every night, but tonight he knew it wouldn't end in flames. He fiddled lazily with a dagger, chipping away at a piece of wood. He didn't know what he was carving; he was never very good at it, but it occupied his time. Plan Coyote The woods around Raef shifted, a little, in the dream. The trees grew taller and darker, more sturdy, and suddenly there was the smell of iron and blood in the air. Ahead of him, the trees twisted, their roots bursting out of the soil and weaving together to create a throne. There were bones in the soil, as if people had been buried there, and the roots twined through the bones, using them to reinforce the chair. Roots slithered through the eye sockets mouths of the skulls, some human, some elven, some small like halflings or children. A massive seven-foot orc stepped out, then rested on the throne. His beard was long and neatly braided, ornamented with pieces of bone. His body was thick with scars and muscle. One of his eyes was scarred over and empty, but he wore no eyepatch, almost as if the missing eye were a badge of honor. He pulled a pipe out of his pocket and began to smoke it, silently watching Raef. Mink Raef reached down automatically for the sword he wore, but his hand met air; he never had it in his dreams. He looked over the trees and slowed his walk until he was stopping before the twisted horror of a throne. His heart that had begun to race felt as if it had seized when the large orc rounded the throne to rest upon on it. His grip on the hilt of his dagger grew painfully tight. "You interrupted something," Raef managed to say as the air rushed back into his lungs. He tucked the dagger away in it's sheath, his hand hovering close to it. It was a dream still - it had to be - but he didn't know how this worked. But he did know the orc before him, and he did know he couldn't win. Plan Coyote “Did I, now,” Bloodgrut the Smartest said. His voice was surprisingly calm and refined for such a large orc. It was a deep and warm drawl, as if Booodgrut were a grandfather, come to have a patient discussion with a wayward grandchild. Mink Raef's jaw tensed; Bloodgrut sounded painfully like Griffin. "Yes." Plan Coyote Bloodgrut nodded slowly. “Forgive my, uh, transgression, what with me not attendin’ your fine weddin’. I figured my presence would only upset you. Sit, boy, sit.” Bloodgrut gestured, and another chair formed. Mink Raef glanced to the chair before he looked back to Bloodgrut, disregarding the order. This wasn't some fucking family discussion. "What do you want?" Plan Coyote “Now, now. Raef Chastian. We are family now,” Bloodgrut said congenially. “Now perhaps things are a bit different from where you’re from, but around here, folks are raised right, and we are polite to family. Have a seat so we can talk like gentlemen.” Mink Raef took a step towards the chair, but he leaned back of it. "I think I'm behaving quite well all things considered, thank you," he said with a bare sort of smile. "What you want, Bloodgrut?" Plan Coyote “I wanna have a nice conversation with my son-in-law,” Bloodgrut said pleasantly. “Now... make no mistake, I won’t hide the fact I don’t approve of your, uh, union. But the fact is, my Imesh has chosen you, and I suppose I must respect the mistakes my children make. Now, I do have some, uh, facts to offer you. Things for your consideration, I suppose, if you wanna hear ‘em.” Mink Raef watched Bloodgrut for a silent moment. A conversation was the last thing he wanted with Bloodgrut, but he fucking doubted he was going to be left alone until it happened. "I suppose a few minutes won't hurt," he finally agreed, stepping around the chair and sitting down. "What do you want to 'offer'?" Plan Coyote “I just wanted to pass on my condolences. Now, I heard about what happened to your husband, that Azrael, or Az, I suppose.” Bloodgrut rose to his feet, and he shifted closer, hand reaching to touch the necklace around Raef’s throat. Mink Raef held up a hand to stop Bloodgrut from touching the necklace. "Your manners are slipping." His voice was tense, his stomach knotted at the mention of Azrael. "You'll have to excuse me if I don't take your condolences." Plan Coyote “Now, now. Don’t be petty. Let’s let bygones be bygones. We’re family now. It was a tragic disagreement, and I won, and it was nobody’s fault.” Mink Raef quirked an eyebrow, jaw tightening. "We have very different ideas on winning if you think you won." Plan Coyote “Well,” Bloodgrut said, as if he were being generous by considering Raef’s point of view. “Perhaps. Perhaps. Now, how long have you and Imesh known each other now?” Mink "Long enough." Irritation licked at Raef's stomach, but it was hard to pinpoint why. Maybe it was mentioning Azrael, or maybe it was speaking of Griffin, or maybe it was Bloodgrut's fucking condescending tone. "Why? Did you have a sudden urge to make sure he was fine?" Plan Coyote “Now that’s a low blow. You’re in polite company, boy. Of course I love all my children, even the wayward one. But it does pain my heart what’s become of him,” Bloodgrut said. “Now I have a proposition for you, a chance to do Imesh some good. A chance for you to better his life. But see, I’m worried you won’t take it, on account of you being a selfish elf and all.” He sat down in his throne again. Mink "I'm glad you're aware of who you're talking with." Raef gave a faint smile. "Maybe I'll consider your proposition." He shrugged. "Tell me what it is and we'll see." Plan Coyote The chair started to unravel. The roots selected a skull, and a ribcage, and various bones, fitting them together into a skeleton. An orc skeleton. “Now, how long were you with your Azrael?” Bloodgrut asked. Mink Raef's mouth began to dry. "Five years." He was guarded as he spoke and he made himself look away from the skeleton. Plan Coyote “Now that’s a pity. Five years. That’s a whole lot longer than a few months, huh.” Bloodgrut nodded slowly. “Now, I don’t agree with your lifestyle choices, boy, but I can respect them. Let me make you a proposition. You want an orc to fuck— any orc, apparently. How about...” Bloodgrut touched Azrael’s skeleton, and flesh crawled across it, rapidly reforming into a body, Azrael’s body. “How about a trade?” Bloodgrut said. “I dug up the pieces of his skeleton. Now, if you like... we’ve got old magic, Raef. Druid magic. I could bring him back. So that’s my proposition for you. Leave my son and lead Imesh to me, and I will give you back your Azrael.” Mink The world dropped away as the flesh crept up and Azrael was there, standing there. Still dead, still not breathing, but he was there and darkness flickered briefly at the corners of his vision before he swallowed and reminded himself to breathe. His fingers itched to reach out, to stroke down Azrael's arms and squeeze his hands. He could feel hot tears welling up as he tore his gaze away. Raef wanted to hold his husband tight once more, wanted to be with him as they had been, but...but he had another husband, a husband sleeping beside him. A husband that smiled still, and laughed still. "No," he answered with a shaky breath. "I'm not...I'm not going to give Griffin back to you." Plan Coyote “But you’re not going to save Azrael back from me, hm. You elves. We’re like ants to you.” Bloodgrut chuckled. Mink "Azrael's dead. You can't save someone from that." Raef's gaze flattened, but he felt nauseated. Plan Coyote03/06/2019 “You can’t. But I can. Eh, that’s a pity,” Bloodgrut said. “Maybe I’ll bring him and just burn him again, huh?” He continued smoking his pipe. Mink Raef stiffened, his hand clenching on his pants near his dagger, but it drifted from his mind. "You wouldn't." Plan Coyote “Well, it’s a shame, is all,” Bloodgrut said. “Now I’m inclined to just let bygones be bygones and let us all be friends, but your are insistent on bein’ difficult, I see. What a shame, what a shame. See, I’d prefer you just left my misguided son be, and I’ll give you back your proper god-given husband. And then Imesh gets to come home and be with his proper blood family. With his brothers. We miss him, is all. Don’t you want Imesh to be happy?” Mink ...burn him again... The thought danced back and forth, but Raef made himself focus....because...because if he didn't... He swallowed. "He will never be happy if he went back to you." Plan Coyote “Maybe. But you ought to give him that choice,” Bloodgrut said pleasantly. “Maybe consider— you’re sorta takin’ advantage of him with your age and experience, don’t you think?” Mink Raef chuckled coldly. "You're really stretching here, Bloodgrut. I think you know he doesn't want to go back, and you don't have a way to make him want to." Plan Coyote “I don’t need you to make him come back, Raef. I got a solution. He doesn’t wanna be the Scion.... he doesn’t have to be.” Bloodgrut spread his hands. “All he’s gotta do is come see me. And we’ll talk.” Mink "Uh-huh." Raef forced himself to relax in the chair. "From what I heard your solution is to make a new one and I just can't have that." He rolled his shoulders. Plan Coyote Bloodgrut cocked his head, eyes narrowing. “Huh. Make a new one?” Mink Raef arched an eyebrow. "You really are a poor father." Plan Coyote “Now, Mr. Chastian. Do you have children? No?” Mink "You are also rather poor at intelligence gathering." Plan Coyote “Petty comments don’t become you. Now, I thought you were supposed to be all refined. C’mon, boy. Replace the Scion? How d’you figure?” Bloodgrut kept smiling. Mink "I'm sorry to've given you that impression." He tapped the hilt of his dagger with the tip of a nail. "All I can tell you is what I hear. I don't play with magic." Plan Coyote “And what have you heard? I’m not hear to fight, Mr. Chastain. I only want to come up with a... mutually satisfying solution.” Mink "This is where I tell you to 'fuck off', Bloodgrut." Raef smiled. "There's no 'mutually satisfying solution'." He leaned forward and rested his arms on his thighs. "You have nothing I want and you can't have Griffin." Plan Coyote Bloodgrut sighed. He kicked back, and he puffed on his pipe. The Azrael doll shuddered, suddenly. It’s feet began to smoke, and it coughed, and when it coughed, black smoke rolled out of its mouth. The air began to reek like burnt hair and flesh. Bloodgrut watched impassively. Mink When Bloodgrut leaned back, Raef began to stand; he was done. He was done with the threats and the demands. He just wanted to - - smoke billowed and poured from Az...from his - the - body. The chair clattered backwards as Raef automatically surged forward, reaching out to grasp Azrael. The world danced again, growing larger before growing smaller. ...please...no... Plan Coyote Azrael reached for him at the same moment. His eyes flared wide, and he grabbed ahold of Raef. “Raef,” he said. He spit and coughed around the smoke. The flesh on his fingers began to burn. “Raef, make it stop. Help me.” Mink Azrael's touch burned against him and Raef wanted to recoil, to escape the suffocating heat and smoke, but he ran his hands over Azrael's face and through his smoking hair. "I...I'm sorry..." he whispered, voice choked with tears. He couldn't do anything. Even here, in his own dream. "...please...I'm sor-ry...I can't..." Plan Coyote Azrael clutched Raef tighter— but his body began to crumble to ash. “But you can,” he said. “You can come get me— why did you leave me? Why don’t you want me anymore? I don’t understand. Raef, please, please, don’t leave me, Gruumsh has me, I don’t want to be here—“ Mink Raef scrambled to keeo Azrael together, the ash soft and puffing up into the air. he could only repeat his apologies before Azrael was gone again and he dropped into the pile, shielding his face as he wept. He didn't know what to do...what he could do... It felt as if everything had shattered around him and he was lost again after finally finding that one person who dragged him out of the dark, brimming sea. Plan Coyote Bloodgrut braced himself on his knees and heaved himself up. He tapped out the remaining ashes of his pipe. “Well, think it over, now,” Bloodgrut said. “Don’t make any hasty decisions.” Mink "...just leave me alone..." Raef whispered as he wiped at his eyes, smearing soot over his face. He wanted that anger back, wanted to feel the hot flames of hate, but all he felt was hollow as he stared at the pile in front of with watery eyes. Plan Coyote Bloodgrut rested a heavy hand on Raef’s shoulder. “It’s okay,” he said, sliding his hand down to pat Raef on the back. “I know you’ll do the right thing.” And then the world crumbled into ash, and the dream ended. Mink End Ash Dream Summary: Bloodgrut interrupts Raef's dream and offers him a deal: turn over Griffin and get Azrael back. Category:Text Roleplay